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AFFAIRS IN KANSAli 

S P E E c K,, -^^^B^^ 



HON. JAMES C. JONES, OF TENNESSEE, 

DELIVERED \ 

IN THE SENATE, FEBRUARY 25, 1856, 

In reply to the speech of Hon. Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, of February 1§, 
on the Affairs of Kansas Territory. 



Mr. JONES, of Tennessee, said: 

Mr. President: I have listened this morning 
with pleasure to the debate which we have heard 
toucJmig; our relations with England; and whilst 
I have felt not only interested, but instructed by 
that debate, it occurred to me that it might be as 
well for us to attempt to adjust our own diffi- 
culties at home before we set out to make new 
ones abroad. 

We have a question before us and the country 
which I think of far more importance to our 
interests and honor, and to the perpetuity of our 
institutions, than the question whether or not 
Mr. Crampton shall be withdrawn, or whether 
or not we shall enter into a conflict with England. 
As for myself, sir, I would rather enter into a 
war with England, and any three of the most 

I)Owerful Governments of the Old World, than 
»ave a conflict at home among ourselves. That 
we arc in danger of such a conflict cannot have 
escaped the observation of any Senator upon this 
floor, and it is to that that I desire to address 
myself to-day. 

I listened, on Tuesday last, with a great deal 
of interest, and I wish I could say with pleas- 
ure, to the most extraordinary address of the 
Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Wilson.] 
In my youthful days, Mr. President, I had read 
something of the character of the Roman Sen- 
ate, and, in my youthful fancy it may have 
been, I had brought myself to the happy and 
consolatory conclusion that our American Sen- 
ate was but an illustration of that most august 
assembly that ever shed luster upon the world; 
but I confess I heard the address of the Sen- 
ator from Massachusetts with some humiliation. 
I reasoned with myself whether my conceptions 
were not the result of a youthful imagination or 
boyish delusion. I trust, however, that time 
will restore to me those bright and glorious con- 
ceptions of what an American Senate was, ought 
^o be, and I trust will continue to be. 
, I was willing, Mr. President, and even felt 
sftme anxiety and solicitude, to answer the re- 
mat-ks of the Senator from Massachusetts, as 



delivered upon that occasion. With a view to 
the accomplishment of that purpose I sought 
the floor; but, inasmuch as that Senator had 
dealt in so many assumptions, so many round 
assertions of what he conceived to be facts, in- 
volving questions not only of history and record, 
and official document, but trenching upon indi- 
vidual and personal character, I felt myself un- 
willing to attempt an answer until I should hav# 
the record before me. I have waited patiently, 
Mr. President, almost a week, for the appear- 
ance of that strange and extraordinary address. 
It has found its way to the public this'fnornirig; 
and, whilst I may have felt a great solicitude to 
answer the Senator at that time, I confess that 
subsequent events, known to the Senate, have 
gone very far to lessen that interest and that 
solicitude. If I shall not succeed in furnishing 
so clear and so explicit an answer to the various 
assumptions of the Senator, I trust that I shall 
find an apology, in the judgment of the Senate, 
from the shortness of the time which has been 
allowed me to answer. 

'"I must, Mr. President, do myself the justice — 
yea, sir, the pleasure — to congratulate the SenEitor 



enEuor 
idMaij^ 



from Massachusetts, and I do it in no Pickw 
sense; I do it sincerely. I congratulate the Sen 
ator from Massachusetts, and I congratulate th" 
Senate, upon the wonderful improvement in the 
address which that Senator made, as between the 
original and that which has been published. It 
satisfies my mind that he is not beyond hope. 
When I heard his address I supposed he was 
beyond the pale of redemption; but fi returning 
sense of justice and propriety seems to^ave per- 
formed its salutary office upon his mind a]id upon 
his heart, and therefore I extend to him my sin- 
cere congratulation. Much that was objection- 
able in the address which he delivered has been 
mollified or been omitted in that which has been 
published. One remark which I considered at 
least most offensive has been omitted entirely. 
I would, for the honor of the Senate, that the vail 
of oblivion could be cast over it for ever. It is 
not before us, and therefore I cannot enter into a 



discussion of it. If it were, my conceptions of 
the proprieties and perhaps the decencies of life 
■would forbid that I should reply to it. 

Mr. President, stranj^-e and extraordinary as 
■was the address of tlie Senator from iMassacliu- 
sett.s, 1 had not supposed *hat he could have been 
led so far in the path of recklessness as not only 
to assail the records of the country, but even to 
descend from the hijjh position which I had sup- 
posed an Anicriean Senator ou^ht to occujiy, to 
deal in assi^ilts upon private and individual char- 
acter, ks there anything in this broad world more 
pure, moi-e holy, r^re sacred to a just, generous, 
honest heart, than the faithful preservation of 
personal character? Sir, take from the honest 
man all the goods that may have been gathered 
around him, reduce him to the lowest depths of 
poverty, let misfortunes gather like clouds of 
(^arkncss, let friends forsake him, let his country 
grow cold and ungrateful, but leave him, as an 
only and lasting legacy, his good name. The 
Senator from, Massachusetts, not content with 
assailing the records of the countrj', has gone 
even to the extent of assailing the character of an 
honest, an absent man,in_order to minister to the 
passions and prejudices of a blind and wicked 
fanaticism. 

In replying to the Senator, I shall avoid, as far 
as I can, tlie employment of any offensive terms. 
Considerations of self-respect, and regard for the 
dignity of the St-nate, forbid that I should indulge 
in offensive epithets. If, in the excitement of 
debate, I shall so far forget myself as to be led 
astray, and use offensive terms, it shall not be my 
♦purpose. One thing I promise: I will not forget 
the decencies or the proprieties of life, or senato- 
rial dignity. 
y<Jndei| ordinary circumstances, Mr. President, 
I shoultr not have felt it to be a matter of any great 
importance to ri'ply lo the Senator from Alassa- 
chusetts, or to follow him in liis labyrinthian maze 
of assertions and assumptions, founded upon 
rumor, fancy, or conjecture; but ■when he pre- 
sents to the country and to the world a statement 
of facts affecting one of the most important and 
delicate relations of our Government — a co)itro- 
versy between members of the same great family — 
upon which statement the public judgment is to 
Le enlightened, and the public verdict rendered, 
I feel it due to tnUh, to justice, to fairness, and 
t(jkhbsent friendships, to interpose and ascertain 
Ahalw far his assertions are sustained by the record 
^and by the testimony. 

That the country should feel a deep and lively 
interest in the adjustment of the controversy 
now pending in the Territory of Kansas, is but 
natural and proper. What patriot heart can con- 
template a conflict of arms between members of 
this great family without emotions of the most 
painful sakcitude.' When the Senator from Mas- 
sachusdns sets out to establish the fact, and prove 
a dereliction of duty on one side to the exclusion 
of the other, I think he undertakes a task which 
it is impossihh' for humanity to accomplish. I 
shall not, in the investigation of this question, 

f)retfnd to assume that there have not been irregu- 
arities, improprieties, indiscretions, perpetrated 
on the part of a portion of our fellow-citizens 
residing in the State of Missouri, I should do 
violence- to my conceptions of frankness and fair- 
ness if I were to assume a position like this. I 



shall freely admit that errors may have been com- 
mitti^d — yea, sir, that errors have been committed 
— that indiscretions have been indulged in, and 
that wrongs have been per))etratcd. All this I 
am ready to admit, because I believe it to be so; 
but when the Senator assumes that all the wrong, 
all the injustice, all the disregard of law has been 
upon the part of those much-stigmatized and 
much-calumniated men of Missouri, called "bor- 
der rulHans," I enter my protest, and join issue 
with the Senator. 

Sir, what is the question which we are anxious 
to solve .' Difficulties exist in the Territory of 
Kansas which have carried distress to the miiids 
ofm;uiya patriot and sorrow to many an anxious 
heart. What is the question for your considera- 
tion and mine? It is to ascertain the cause of 
this discord, and to apply the remedy if we may — 
to a.scertaiji who have been the guilty instigators 
of these outrages. All the troubles which have 
originated in Kansas have grown outof a morbid — 
and I must be permitted to say, unpatriotic — op- 
position to what gentlemen are pleased to call the 
extension of slavery. An attempt is made to 
prove that all these troubles are the immediate 
and direct result of the repeal of the Missouri 
compromise. I do not admit that fact at all. I 
shall not go into a reargument of the question 
of tlie propriety of the repeal of the Missouri 
compromise, or, in more proper language, the 
Missouri restriction. I simply mean to say that 
that has been made the pretext and the occasion 
for all the agitation with which this country has 
been cursed for the last year or two. I assume 
it to be true, that if that compromise, as it is called, 
had never been touched — and I can demonstrate 
my assumption by reference to the opinions of the 
leaders of this party — this agitation on the sub- 
ject of slavery could have been continued. The 
Senator from New Hampshire has the manliness 
and the frankness to say and admit that theirs 
is a war of extermination against slavery. 

Mr. HALE. No. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Do you not feel 
it, and do you not believe it? 

Mr. HALE. I never said so in my life. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I ask you in frank- 
ness, is not that so? 

Mr. HALE. You said I had the frankness to 
admit it. I never said so. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I say you will 
have the frankness to admit it. 

Mr. HALE. You spoke of it in the present 
tense. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I will speak of it 
in the future. 

Mr. HALE. If the appeal is made to me, I 
must take a minute or two to answer. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Then you had 
better sit down and let me go on. 

Mr. HALE. Very well. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Mr. President, it 
is a notorious fact that all the abolition papers 
point to this single idea; if you are not fighting 
against slavery, what are you fighting against? 
If we were to restore tlie Missouri compromise, 
would you cease to fight slavery ? Wmild you 
believe slavery less offensive in the sight of God 
and of man? If you are simply fighting for the 
Missouri compromise, and if I could bind you 
by some obligation — certainly not known to this 



earth — to keep the peace forever on the suliject 
of slavery, 1 would be willing to sec that odious 
compromise restored. If you are animated by no 
higher motive, no more exalted patriotism, or 
benevolence, orluimanity, or religion, than simply 
tlie restoration of that old Missouri compromise, 
I believi; that, notwithstanding my opposition to 
compromises, I might agree to restore it; but you 
all know very distinctly that you are waging a 
war against slavery as an institution — that you 
never mean to cease that war until the last shackle, 
as you term it, sliall fall from the hands of the 
black man. 

Sir, I say that the repeal of the Missouri com- 
promise is the pretext, not the cause, for this agi- 
tation. Was there any cause for it? The reiieal 
was accomplished by the forms of law. That 
comproniise was originally established by the 
forms of law. It was a simple, law of the land; 
and when the Congress of the United States, with 
the assent and ap))roval of the President, repealed 
a simple statute, was that any great outrage, which 
should exasperate this country from one end of 
the Uiiion to the other? It seems to me not to 
have been a sufficient cause; but I do not mean 
to dwell u|ion that. 

Thi; beginning of the difficulties may be found 
in an earnest, ardent, and — pardon me for saying — 
a reckless determination to repeal that clause in 
the Kansas-Nebraska bill which abrogates (he 
Missouri restriction. In less than thirty days 
after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, a 
meeting was held in the city of Washington, 
headed by a Senator upon this floor as its pre- 
siding officer, composed of members of Congress, 
in which they entered into a solemn pledge to con- 
tinue their opposition until that infamous record 
was o!)literated. They did not stop tliere; they- 
called to their aid the earnest, ardent, impulsive 
appeals from the hustings and a portion of the 
American i>ress; and even the sacred pulfiit (which 
ought to be the repository of virtue, of piety, of 
religion, of devotion to the peace and good order 
of society) was brought into requisition to ac- 
complish this great purpose. 

Mr. President, after the' repeal of the Missouri 
restriction, as it ig termed, these men determined 
to prevent the introduction of slavery into the 
Territory of Kansas. These lovers of universal 
humanity, despairing of the repeal of that por- 
tion of the Kansas bill abrogating the Missoui'i 
restriction, determined to bring into requisition 
every appliance of their power, their wisdom, or 
imagination, or money to prevent the introduc- 
tion of slavery into the Territory of Kansas. 
That determination was proclaimed to the world 
through their presses, by many of their puljlic 
speakers, and from many of their pulpits. 1 shall 
not enter into a war with the churcji; but, to use 
no harslier term, I say tiie proclamation went 
forth from many pulpits that the virgin soil of 
Kansas was never to be polluted by the unhal- 
lowed touch of slavery. There seemed to be a 
fixed purpose on the part of the enemies of slavery 
to prevent the establishment of such institutions 
as they are pleased to denounce as odious in this 
Territory, h-t the cost in blood and treasure be 
what it might. 

The next step in the execution of this deter- 
mination—the next exhibitions that we have of 
that lofty patriotism, that burning benevolence of 



universal humanity — was the establishment of 

your emigrant aid society. When my honorable 

friend from Missouri [Mr. Geykr] the other day 

.intimated that that might be the cause of the 

present disturbances in Kansas, the Senator from 

I Masscichusetts was horrified at the idea that a 

I peace society of the Puritans of New England, 

j bound together for a laudable and benevolent 

[purpose, could have been the cause of those out- 

! rages and bloodshed whicli dishonor the country 

in which we live. Now, sir, I assume (and I not 

only assume, but I shall endeavor to prove) that 

more of all the horrors and outrages that have 

occurred in Kansas and now threaten us with civil 

war, have resulted from the organization of that 

and kindred societies than from any other cause 

whatever. The issue is fairly joined, and now to 

the law and to the testimony. 

Mr. President, it may be well enough for me 
to inquire at this point whether you, or I, or any 
other Senator on this floor ever heard of an Amer- 
ican emigrant aid society before ? I thought the 
United States was an asylum to which emigrants 
came. Whence the necessity for the inaumra- 
tion of this new order of things in the United 
States.' An American emigrantaid society! What 
were the motives for this? Did it originate in that 
broad,' expansive, generous benevolence which 
fills the heart of the good man and patriot, to lend 
aid to the poor, to the infirm, to those unable to 
find homes intlieWest? Was that your noble and 
generous purpose ? If not, were you actuated by 
a desire more local, and perhaps more selfish, but 
yet laudable, to rid yourselves of a redundant pop- 
ulation which had gathered around your cities 
and densely-settled riigions of country? Were 
these the motives ? I ask the honorable Senator, 
with all proper respect, what were the purposes 
and objects to be accomplished by the inaugura- 
tion of these emigrantaid societies? I a^k the Sen- 
ator, and I hope he will give me a laconic answer, 
to tell me what were the purposes intended to be 
accomplished ? He can do it now, or after I have 
concluded. 

Mr. President, the objects of these societies 
are before us. I do not think I am an uncharit- 
able man; and if I believed that these societies 
were organized from considerations of benevo- 
lence to the poor and the oppressed, with a view 
of settling the far distant regions of our country, 
and extending the empire of civilization and set- 
tlement, I could not find it in my heart to com- 
plain of them; but honestly and sincerely con- 
vinced, as I am, that they found their existence 
and their being in but tw% purposes and two mo- 
tives, they can meet no approving response in my 
heart. I assume that there were but two motives 
that actuated these philanthropic gentlemen in the 
establishment of these aid societies. Wliat are 
they? First, to make Kansas a free State. The 
leading, the paramount object of their organiza- 
tion was to convert Kansas into a free State and 
to overwhelm tin; institution of slavery there. 
The next motive, in my judgment, is divested 
even of the poor virtue of fanaticism. Coupled 
with this purpose of opposition to slavery, is 
the meaner, tlie lower, the more sordid one of 
money. I make these two points, and I shall 
endeavor to prove them. 

1 hold in my hand the statutes of the State of 
Massachusetts for the year 1854, and I find in 



them " An act to incorporate tlic Massachusetts 
Emigrant Aid Company." After specifying the 
names of the corporators and tlie powers with 
which tliey are vested, the act provides: "The 
capital stock of said corporation shall not exceed 
$5,000,000." These philanthropic gentlemen, not 
satisfied with contributions levied upon them- 
selves and their friends and their sympathizer.s, 
must needs apply to the strong arm of the gov- 
ernment of Massachusetts to obtain power to 
establish a machinery with a capital of :5i5,O00,000, 
bv which the institutions of a distant Territory 
should be molded and formed. Does any man 
believe that, if it were a simjile question of benev- 
olence, they would ask the Legislature of Mas- 
sachusetts to incorporate them into a body politic, 
•with a capital of !ji5,000,000, merely to aid the 

Soor emigrant on his way to his distant hom^.' 
To, sir; that is levying too heavy a contribution 
on our credulity, to make us believe anything of 
that sort. Then you invoke the agency of your 
State authorities to enable you to consummate 
your purpose of organizing the Territory of Kan- 
sas» But that is not all. I am not left in the 
dark as to the motives of these gentlemen. I hold i 
in my hand a letter from the secretary of the 
Ma.ssachusetts Emigrant Aid Society, written, 
as it says, " for the purpose of answering numer- 
ous inquiries concerning the plan and operation 
of the emigrant aid company and the resources 
of Kansas Territory, which it is now proposed 
to settle." In this letter I find the following 
announcement: 

"It lias been decided to execute a deed oftnirft in lieu of 
the cliaitcr granted by the Li-cj..i;itn,e ; and it is biliived tliat, 
by an unmediate subscription lo tiiis fund of ,«-200,000, the 
emigrant may be protected, a tree State mav be secured to 
tliu lasting advanuigo of tlie country, and possibly u valu- 
able property secured to llie subscribers." 

Mark, you! they abandon their charter to organ- 
ize themselves into a com]iany,and they propose 
a subscription of §200,000— for what .? To make 
Kansas a free State, and " possibly" secure val- 
uable property to the subscribers. Not only to 
militate against the institutions of the South by 
preventing the introduction of slavery into Kan- 
sas, but to make a valuable property under the 
miserable, insincere, and hypocritical pretense of 
aiding the poor emigrant to find a home in the 
"West. But, sir, I am not done with this book yet. 

Mr. HALE. It is a good book. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Yes, sir, there is 
a good deal of good reading in it. It tells the 
truth, and that is a thing you rarely get from that 
quarter of the countrjj. [Laughter.] It says 
further: " It is recommended to the company's 
agents" — mark, you ! the Senator from Massa- 
chusetts took my friend to task for as.suming, 
even intimating, that there could be anything 
impure in this puritanical association of Massa- 
chusetts; I read from their own statement — 

" It is recommended that the company's agents locate, 
and take up for the company's benefit, the sections of land 
in which the boarding-houses and mills are located, and no 
others. And further, that vvlnmever the Territory shall be 
organized as a free State the trustees shall disji'osi' of all 
its interests there, replace by the sales the money laid out, 
div.-lare a dividend to the stockholders, and that they then 
select a new field, and make; similar arrangements for the 
settlement and organization of another free trtate of this 
Union." 

Now, sir, was ever there a plainer, more un- 
blushing proclamation to the world of the mo- j 



I tives and purposes of thisfcettero/cii/, lmmane,and 

I Christian society, orgajiized for the purpose of 

aiding the poor emigrant .' It tells them to secure 

jj the sections on which their boarding-houses and 

mills are located, and then says to the subscribers: 

: " When we have succeeded in making Kansas a 

free State, we will divide the profits and will turn 

our attention to sonic future conquest." As soon 

as they succeed in making Kansas a free State 

with this moneyed power, they are to divide the 

profits between their saints at home, and then 

make a new State somewhere else without slavery ! 

j Is that the game you play when you talk about 

I fairness, openness, and manliness, and equality of 

j rights between the people of this great country — 

when you have a moneyed organization with a 

proclamation that it is your purpose to convert a 

i Territory where slavery now exLsts into free Ter- 

I ritory, and when you have accomplished that, to 

i turn over to some new conquest? Beware ! there 

i may be a power that will say to you, " Thus far 

I shalt thou go, and no further." 

I But, sir, there is another argument that I wish 

to read from the same book — an argument pre- 

: scnted in behalf of the emigrant aid society : 

I " It is impossible that such a region should not fill up rap- 
j idly. The emigrant Jiid company proposes to give confi- 
! dence tn settlers, by giving system to emigration. By dis- 
I polling the tears that Kaiisas will be a slave State, the 
[ company will remove the only bar which now hinders its 
occupation by free settlers. It is to be hoped that similar 
companies will bo formed in other free States. The entcr- 
[ prise is of that character, that for those wfio first enter it 
tlie more competition the better." 

Now, I submit to the frankness of the Senate, 
whether I have not established the facts Avhich I 
assumed in the beginning: first, that these emi- 
grant aid societies were inaugurated for the ex- 
press purpose of making Kansas a free State ; and , 
next, to make a moneyed speculation of this so- 
called benevolent enterprise. I have given the 
record and the testimony , and I defy its refutation. 

The Senator from Massachusetts lifts his hands 
in holy horror at the aggressions of the border 
ruffians; and he seems to think they are the ag- 
gressors in all the outrages which have been per- 
petrated. I might subiiiit to his candor this case: 
Suppose he was situated as those gentlemen are 
situated on the border of Missouri, and had seen 
what they have seen, and had heard what they 
have heard; suppose he had seen the power of 
the mighty Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
brought to the aid and assistance of those in the 
Territory of Kansas who arc seeking to establish 
what are called free institutions there; suppose 
he were one of those men on the border who, 
having encountered all the hardships and perils 
of the wilderness, having braved the storm un- 
sheltered and unprotected, having encountered all 
the hardships of border warfiirc with the savages, 
with their wives and children around them; sup- 
pose he had been there and seen this movement, 
which was calculated to hazard, if not to destroy, 
the value of their projierty and reduce their wives 
and children to beggary — is there no gi?nerous ' 
impulse in his heart which would rise up in re- 
sistance to such an assault as that.' A man who 
had not the courage to act in such an emergency 
would not deserve the name of man. Vou pro- 
pose to establish a line of free States there, with 
a population holding it to be right and holy to aid 
the slave in making his escape from his master. 



Men there see the danger of 10311)2; the nccumu- 
lations of a life of labor; their rights and prop- 
erty are to be sacrificed; and when the}' stand up 
ill a manly attitude and resist, thouj^li perhaps, 
too violently, you find no sympathy for them — 
nothing but denunciation and bitterness. While, 
I repeat, I shall not pretend to fully justify them 
in all they have done, I do pretend, and I shall 
niainttiin, that they had provocation enough to 
rouse them to vigilance, and to the protection of 
their property by all fair and legitimate means. 

I come now, Mr. President, to examine the 
speech of the Senator from Massachusetts more 
in detail. I shall endeavor to follow him in the 
order in which he presented his sentiments to the 
Senate. Much of what was asserted by the Sen- 
ator was stated with apparent confidence and 
boldness, but, I must be permitted to say, with 
very httle testimony or proof to support it. He 
advertised us several times during his speech that 
he couki prove all that he said, and that there 
were then witnesses in the gallery who could tes- 
tily to what he asserted. Now, 1 ask, is it not 
a strange and an extraordinary state of things, 
that when we have presented to the Senate offi- 
cial documents — the only record that we have — 
the Senator will so ftu* forget what is due at least 
to the dignity of official station in others, as to 
rely upon rumor and newspaper paragraphs, and 
upon what A, B, or C may have told him in the 
lobbies or on Penns3flvania avenue, as contradict- 
ory of the statements of men in position under 
the solemn responsibilities of an oath. That may 
be consistent with the Senator's views of pro- 
priety, but I confess that I am not able to per- 
ceive it. The Senator says: 

" Yes, sir, tlie Senate is now calleil upon to print and 
send over the country, as official clocuniciits, tliese stu- 
pendous luisreprosentauons of facts. They will carry a 
gigantic f;ilschood to tlie American people. He who reads 
only th^^sc documents has no accurate knowledge, no true 
conception of tlie actual condition of atfairs in Kansas at 
tlie time covered by them." 

Now, I submit to the Senate, how are we to 
arrive at conclusions in the discharge of our 
duties here, as representatives of the States of 
this Union, unless we rely on the records of the 
country.' Those records were called for; they 
have been presented to us. They purport to be 
a statement of facts which existed; and yet the 
Senator, upon the outside statement of gentlemen, 
it may be, — who they are, I neither know nor 
care, — has in his place proclnimed to the world 
that they are stupendous falsehoods and gigantic 
misrepresentations. Will not the Senator find it 
to be a herculean task to satisfy the world that 
the President of the United States, the Secretary 
of War, the Governor of the Territory of Kansas, 
and the officers underhim — men sworn to do their 
duty and to present the facts — stand here as per- 
jured villains, upon the outside statements of ; 
otlier men .' The Senator may have information i 
that I have not; he may possess means of in- I 
formation not known to the Senate; but we are j 
called upon, in our official position, to seek for ] 
information from the only source where we have j 
a right to demand it. But, sir, the Senator says, | 
further: 

"Iv.irly in the autumn of ISM, the Missouri guardians 
of Kansas crossed over into the Territory, and, by force of 
arms, endeavored to drive from their homes the few people 
who li;ul begun the little settlement at Lawrence. But 
these Platte county association heroes found a little band i 



of about thirty New Eiiirland men, under the lead ofCharlos 
Uobinson — the Miles Sliindisli of Kansas — ready to meet the 
issue with powder and ball, and they retreated to their 
homes, prelening to live to tight another day." 

I am sure that his Excellency Charles Robin- 
son, " the Governor elect of Kansas," will feel 
himself profoundly indebted to the Senator for 
the discovery that he is the Miles Standish of 
Kansas. 

" Ready to meet the issue with powder and ball, and 
they retreated to their Iionies, preferring to live to light an- 
other day." 

How docs that accord with the terrible denun- 
ciations of the Senator against the border ruffians .'' 
He pictured them in characters so strong, with 
such vivid light glaring around them, that the 
nerves of the people might have been shattered. 
He told us of bowie-knives and revolvers, of des- 
peradoes and border ruffians. When they were 
contronted with Charles Robinson, and about 
thirty peaceful New England pilgrims, this horde 
of border ruffians, more to be feared than those 
who came from northern Europe in the days of 
the Crusades, retreated, Jled to their homes, prefer- 
rivp; to live to fight another day. Oh ! monstrous 
chivalry, that these border ruffians could not con- 
front even thirty peaceful Puritans of New Eng- 
land ! Then, allow me to ask, wliy alarm the 
country about the border ruffians? From the 
statement of the Senator from Massachusetts, 
which I have read, they are the most harmless 
people the world ever heard of. With thirty 
Puritans from New England, you could not make 
that number of the oldest v,-omen in Tennessee 
run. No, sir; unarmed, they would have dis- 
puted the ground with your Miles Standish. 

Here I desire to ask who is this Mr. Charles 
Robinson, who is called Governorelect of Kansas.' 
Does the honorable Senator pretend to know who 
he is? [Mr. Wilson nodded assent.] The hon- 
orable Senator bows his head. Then 1 hope he 
will furnish the Senate a biographical sketch of 
him. I have a few paragraphs in regard to that 
gentleman; and, by way of aiding the Senator 
v/ith the preparation of his memoir, I w-ill state 
what I knov/ of him. I shall not resort to news- 
papers, but I can refer to the records of the coun- 
try to establish what I say. Mr. Charles Rob- 
inson — the Miles Standish of Kansas — was once a 
citizen of the State of California; and what was 
he there ? He was the head and front, the leader 
of a band of desperadoes, as infamous as ever 
disgraced any age or country. He it was that 
organized a baud in the city of Sacramento for 
the purpose of warring against the rights of prop- 
erty there. He it was who led that band in that 
ever-memorable and ever- to-be execrated conflict, 
in which the peaceful mayor of the city of Sac- 
ramento, and the sheriflf of that county, in at- 
tempting to execute the law, were shot down. He 
was arrested and put into prison, and while there 
was elected to the Legislature by these ruffians, 
these squatters, these men essaying to usurp the 
rights of property. He went to the Legislature 
as the champion of that spurious or squatter sov- 
ereignty in California. When the senatorial elec- 
tion came on, I am informed by a gentleman well 
advised on the subject, instead of standing up to 
the party which elected him, he voted for the 
largest property holder in California. On the 
28th of February — if I am not mistaken in the 
date — your Miles Standish left the Legislature, 



and never appeared there a2:ain. The Journals 
show it; I had them examined hist niicht. He 
hift Cahfornia, and the next time tliat Mik'S 
Standisli, alias Mr. Governor Charles Robinson, 
makes his appearance on tiie stage, he is at his 
old game, leading on desperadoes to the violation 
of the law and resistance to the legal authorities 
of the country. 

But, Mr. President, I come to a very important 
point, and that is the rights of existing parties in 
Kansas. The Senator says that, at tlie election 
of March 30, 1855, four thousand voters from the 
State of Missouri passed into Kansas and gave 
their votes. That brings up the question of the 
validity of the election of March 30, 1855, from 
which all this controversy springs. It is the turning 
point on which this controversy must be decided. 
The Senator says that four thousand Missourians 
came over upon that occasion and cast their votes. 
Where does he obtain his information? What 
particle of proof does he adduce ? Does he bring 
even his Miles Standish to prove that ? No, sir; 
not a particle of testimony is adduced to prove a 
charge which, if true, is of vast importance. I 
think the Senator has fallen into some mistake in 
this matter. There was another distinguished 
witness quoted by the Senator, and I intend to 
take up several of his witnesses as I go on. The 
authority of General Pomeroy was relied on by 
the Senator to sustain him in many of his as- 
sumptions. I have referred to the Senator's state- 
ment as to the number of voters who crossed from 
Missouri. Now let me refer to General Pomeroy 's 
statement. He says: 

" That not less than three tlioiisand votes were given by 
tliese arniiul invaders, who came ori;anize(l hi liaiids with 
officers, and arms, and tents, and provisions, and munitions 
of war, as tliouffli tliey wi^re marching' upon a foreign loe, 
instead of their own unoffending follow-eilizens." 

This is not very material I grant; it only makes 
a difference of one fourtir, but when gentlemen 
assume to deal in facts, they ought to be precise. 
The Senator says four thousand voters crossed 
from Missouri; Pomeroy says there were three 
thousand. If we could get two or three other 
witnesses I have no doubt we should reduce it 
down to the fact, which I think, from the best in- 
formation 1 can get, would be that three or four 
hundred crossed over. But, sir, whether there 
were three, or four, or forty thousand is a matter 
of perfect indifference to mo. I say these gentle- 
men are estopped from any allegation of thai kind. 
If there were frauds in that election which viti- 
ated it, and therefore rendered null and void the 
ass(;mbling of the Legislature, where are the 
facts? I think it better to look to tlie record. 

The election for members of the Legislature 
was orden.'d by the then Governor of the Terri- 
tory of Kansas, Governor Reeder. He issued 
the writ of election. He prescrilied the rules and 
regulations for the government of that election. 
He a!)pointi-d the judges who were sworn to ex- 
ecute the orders which he had issued, governing 
and controlling the election. All that is matter o( 
history. The ileetion was held under the pro- 
clamation of Gover)ior Reoder. Returns were 
sent to him. He retained in his hands the power 
to examine and compare tiie poll lists, and the 
right to issue certificates of election. He did that. 
He issued certificates to thirty-one out of thirty- 
nine members of the Legislatiu-e of Kansas. He 
refused certificates to eight — two in the Senate, 



' and six in the House. Is it not now too late to 
go back behind the record and attack the validity 
, of the election of March, 1855? A new election 
took place to su]iply the seats of the eightto whom 
the Governor refused certificates of election. 
' I The Legislature met, and w^hat hap]iened there? 
1 1 invite the attention of the Senator from Massa- 
chusetts to a very remarkable paper before me. 
We are told now that four thousand border ruffians 
came ovei- from Missouri and carried that election; 
j but here was your own Governor on the watch- 
: tower to guard the rights and interests of the 
/ people of Kansas — a sworn officer, with all the 
^ power in his own hands. What does he say? 
! He addressed a message; " to the honorable the 
ij Council and House of Representatives of the 
'I Territory of Kansas." Why, Governor Reeder, 
': whom are you addressing? We are told there is 
1 1 no Legislature there, that there never was a legal 
iland coMstitutional Legislature; then what were 
you talking about, Governor Reeder? This pro- 
duction of his which I have before me is a very 
patriotic one. And for fear some of you, gentle- 
men, may get to be governors I wish to read it. 
Your Miles Standish is called a governor, and I 
hope the Senator from Massachussets will be a 
governor some day. I desire to read to him this 
address of Govc^rnor Reeder. It is an eloquent 
'I thing. Those men talk well; they preach better 
1 1 than any man I ever saw, but practice worse. 
11 Here is what your Governor Reeder says: 

) " Havini; hrcii duly notified tliat your roppcctivo bodies 

I have organized for the performance of your oliicial functions, 

I I herewith ^ubmit to you the usual execuiive conimunica- 

j tion r(!lative to suhjeets of li;gislalion, which universal and 

! long-coiuiiiuod usage in analogous cases would seem to 

demand, allliougli no express requirement of it is to be 

found in th(! act of Congress which has brouglU us into 

official exigence, and prescribed (uir spvoral duties. 

"The position which wo occupy, aud the solemn trust that 
is confided to us for originating the laws and institutions and 
iriolding the destinies ol a new republic in the ver)' geographi- 
cal center of our vast and magnificent Confed" riUlon, cannot 
I but impress us with a deep aud solenni sense of thi^ heavy 
j responsiliiliiy which we have assumed, and admonish us to 
I lay a.-ide all selfish and efjiiivocal motives, to discard all 
j unwoi-tliy ends, and in the s|tirit of justice and cliarity to 
j each other, with pure hearts, tempered feelings, and sober 
j jinlgments. to address ourselves to our task, Rud so p^rfoiin 
it, in the fear and reverence of that God who oversees our 
work, that the star we expect to add to the national banner 
shall be dinuned by no taint or tarnish of dishonor, and that, 
when vi-'wed from the trying and scrntini/.iiig stand point 
of the future, we siiall be subject to no reproach save that 
which springs from the inevitable fallibility of ju.>t and up- 
right men." 

j I submit to Senators how can they assume that 
! this Legislature had no legal and constitutional 
j existence, when here is the record showing that 
I they were recognized and regarded hy their own 
1 Chief Magistrate within the Territory as legal and 
constitutional, and a part and parcel of the great 
organic system of constitutional government for 
the Territory of Kansas? But, sir, I cannot dwell 
longer on that. 

The next point of objection which is made is 
that, whilst the Legislature was constitutional up 
to the )ieriod of the Governor's message, it after- 
ward.-; Ijeeame a nullity, a spurious body williout 
any legitimate authority, without any constitu- 
tional organization or proper function. How 
could that be ? It was a constitutional assembly, 
according to Governor Reeder, up to a certain day. 
When did itcease to b.e a constitutional ass(!mbly? 
They say it ceased when the Legislature assumed 
the power to remove its sittings from one place 



to another — from Pawnee City to tlio Shawnee 
Mission. Tiiat is a strange assumption of law, 
that the Legislature ceased to liave existence 
when it exercised a leg'islative function. But they 
say the Governor had the power to iix tlie se-at of 
Government. I deny it. He had no such power. 
He had only the power to designate the place 
where the Legislature should first meet. He did 
designate it. The Li^gislature met there; but after 
meeting finding that tliere were no suitable accom- 
modations there for the transaction of the public 
business, as wise and sensible men they withdrew 
to another point where they could transact the 
public business with dispatch, economy, and 
comfort. For this removal, it is argued that their 
subsequent proceedings are void. 

Sir, [ never set myself up to argue questions 
when there is higiier authority upon which I can 
rely. The question of dispute on this point was 
submitted to the Supreme Court of the Territory 
of Kansas, by a resolve of the Legislature for 
their arbitrament and decision. What was the 
decision of the Supreme Court.' I have it before 
me. Two of the three members of that court 
gave a very long, labored, and I maybe permit- 
ted to say, though I do not profess to be a lawyer, 
an able and conclusive opinion in favor of the 
power which was exercised by the Legislature. 
There was no dissenting opinion in that court. 
The Legislature performed their duty to the coun- 
try and to the Constitution. When they were 
told that their act was illegal and unconstitutional, 
what did they do.' Did they go forward boldly 
and recklessly, with a determined spirit to disre- 
gard all the proprieties of life .' No, sir; but they 
referred the question to the Supreme Court, the 
highest tribunal in the Territory; and, acting 
under its decision, they went on to discharge their 
duties. I should like to hear the Senator from 
Massachusetts attempt to answer the arguments 
of the judges of that Supreme Court. 

Mr. President, I have done with the question 
of the legality of the Legislature, and I go to the 
consideration of a question of some personal 
interest. Senators generally will remember with 
feelings of the most painful regi-et, that the Sena- 
tor from Massachusetts, not content with his 
assault upon the public records of the country, 
not satisfied with ministering to peculiar sects and 
classes, found it to be his duty, doubtless — be- 
cause I will not assume that the Senator would so 
far forget himself, unless under the convictions 
of some imperious necessity — to go out of his 
way to arraign a man known to the American 
Senate. Lest I should do injustice to the Senator, 
which God forbid, I will quote his own words: 

" Sir. I do not wish to lio iiijiistief to the gentleman who 
80 recently tilled your clinir. VVIicn Congress asi^eniWpd in 
DecemUcr, 18r)4, lie was not here ; and yovi, sir, were placed 
ill the seat which the Senate had assigned to him. He oame 
liere aCterwards, spent a ff.'w weeks, and about the Ist of 
February left the cripital for his home in western Missouri, 
with the avowal thathe went to look alter afTairs in Kansas, 
and to organize for the election to take place on the 30lh of 
March. General Atc'liison was the organizing, moving 
spirit of that Missouri movement from which all of these 
unlawful transactions liave originated." 

Mr. President, General Atchison requires no 
vindication at my hands. David R. Atchison 
does not need to be protected from the assaults 
of the Senator from Massachusetts. 

Mr. BUTLER. Will my friend from Tennessee 
allow me at this time to make a single remark ? 



Mr. .TONES, of Tennessee. Certainly. 
Mr. BUTLER. I do not intend to take any 
j'art in thid discussion; but I have letters from 
General Atchison, who is a jiersonal friend for 
whom I have a very high regard, and I should 
not do justice to myself if 1 omitted a jiroper oc- 
casion to submit a statement in refe'rence to him. 
It is not my purpose to reply to the Senator from 
Massachusetts, for I observe that my friend from 
j Tennessee is doing that quite well enough. 

Mr. JONES, of^Timnes.soe. Will the Senator 
from South Carolina go on and make his state- 
ment now .' 

I Mr. BUTLER. No, sir. I do not wish to 
I make it nov/. I wish to mak(^ it in such a form 
I as to be rather a statement of testimony than any- 
Ithing else; for, as my friend has said, those who 
I know General Atchison at all, know enough of 
him to be aware that he is a remarkable man in 
two respects — for his firmness and his benevo- 
lence. I think those who know him best would 
be very apt to appreciate the qualities which, in 
some measure, have not been understood. If the 
Senator from Massachusetts will allow me to 
quote from his distinguished predecessor, (Mr. 
Webster,) I will say of General Atchison as 
that great man said of Massachusetts, "There 
he stands: he needs no eulogy." 
j Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Mr. President, 
1 after what has fallen from my friend from South 
I Carolina, I have not another word to say in be- 
! half or in vindication of the character of General 
Atchison. I did feel at the time that there was 
some'thing of unkindness in the assault of the 
Senator from Massachusetts. We have all known 
him; and there lives not on God's green earth the 
I man who dares stand up and assert that David 
JR. Atchison is capable of anything mean, low, 
[unworthy, or unpatriotic. I know the Senator 
I from South Carolina will be able to present this 
matter in a clearer light than I can, and I there- 
I fore dismiss this portion of the subject. 

Mr. President, I have been endeavoring to show 

j that all these outrages did not flow from the border 

' ruffians of Missouri, as they are called, but may 

I be traced, directly or indirectly, in part or in 

whole, to the intervention of the emigrant aid 

I societies — that of Massachusetts being the germ 

j from which all the others have sprung. This 

I point, I think, I shall be able to prove to the satis- 

j faction even of the Senator from Massachusetts. 

I would to Heaven that the impenetrable shield — 

if it be impenetrable — which has gathered over 

I his mind, and, I fear, over his heart, could be 

removed for one moment, and that he could be 

I made to feel and believe that it was possible that 

I some virtue, some charity, some patriotism, some 

j of those enlarged, generous, and liberal feelings 

I which dignify our nature, are to be foimd on the 

I southern side of Mason and Dixon's line. The 

Senator nods his head, as much as to say that he 

I feels it to be so. I am glad that he does, and if 

lie were to go through the South, and see things 

for himself, he would come back .with other 

feelings, other purposes, and other resolves. I 

have stated my convictions of the result of the 

formation of these societies. I hold in my hand 

the proceedings of a meeting of free State citizens 

of the Territory of Kansas, held on the 5th and 

()th of Se]itember, 1855; and I propose to read 

one resolve of that convention. Remember that 



8 



it is a convention of tlie lovers of freedom — of 
those who seek to establish free institutions in 
Kansas — of the lovers of peace and the men of 
humility; but let us sec what they say: 

♦' Resolvcil. Tliat we will endure and submit to these laws 
no lonpiT than the host interests of the Territory rerpiire, as 
the least of two evils, and will resist them to a bloody issue 
as soon as we asciMtain that pi'aceabic remedies shall fail, 
and forcible resistanec shall furnish any reasonable pros- 
pect of success ; and that, in the mean time, we recommend 
to our friends tlirouahoiit the Territory the organization 
and discipline of volunteer companies, and the procure- 
ment and preparation of arms." 

Here is a proclamation issued by these lovers 
of peace, these inoffensive gentlemen, who, we 
are told, have been besieged and beleaguered by 
the border ruffians of Missouri, saying — " we 
will submit as long as we choose, and when we 
choose we will resist the law, even to the shed- 
ding of blood." That is the plain English of 
what they say. How does that comport with the 
peaceful mission of the emigrant aid society? 
These men go further, and they recommend an 
organization of volunteer military companies. 
For what? To resist the execution of the law — 
to resist it when, in their judgment, they can do 
so safely; because they are very smart about 
that. 

Mr. HALE. Prudent. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Yes, sir, prudent. 
You are always prudent; that is the very objec- 
tion I have to you. You have no impulses. If 
you were a little more impulsive and less prudent, 
I would have more confidence in you; for I would 
rather trust the heart than the head. I have said 
these men recommended the organization of mili- 
tary companies. This was in a peaceful country, 
where the laws were passed, according to Governor 
Reader, by the properly-con stitued authorities, 
acknowledged to be so by the Supreme Court. 
These men say " we will submit to the laws as 
long as we please, and the very moment we per- 
ceive that we can resist them successt'ully, we will 
do so. " That may not be an overt act of treason, 
but it is moral treason, and ought to be "doubly 
damned." I hate a moral traitor worse than I do 
an open, legal resisterof the laws. These menhavc 
taken the first, the great, the important step to- 
wards treason; and when they do organize com- 
panies to resist the laws, they will be guilty of 
the overt act; and I would hang them as high as 
Haman . 

It may be said, however, that this recommend- 
ation was never put into execution. I think 
otherwise. I have several papers, which I have 
collected with some trouble. I have been watch- 
ing this matter, because I thought there were 
some who would try to make capital out of it. I 
have no doubt that tens of thousands of copies 
of the speech of the Senator from Massachusetts 
are now flying into every part of the country. 
Here was a recommendation by a public assembly 
of the free-State men of Kansas, calling on the 
people to organize themselves into volunteer com- 
panu'S. Did they do it? They did follow that 
recommendation, and here is the record testi- 
mony. Taking counsel from the resolution which 
I have read, the peaceful emigrants from the Pu- 
ritan States set about an organization; and what 
did they do ? I have before me the constitution 
and ritual of the Grand Encampment of the regi- 
men ta of the Kansas Legion, adopted April 4, 1855. 



It is a very small book, but there is a great deal 
in it. It discloses the nature of this organization. 
It is a secret military organization, bound by the 
inost solemn and fearful oaths that were ever ad- 
ministered to a freeman. 

Coiistittition and Ritual of the Grand Encampment and Re- 
giments of the Kanias Legion, of Kansas Territory, adoylcd 
-ijiril 4, 185.1. — Lau-rencc, Kansas Tcrritury: G. W. 
Brown, printer, Herald office, 1855. 

Constitution of Grand Encamjnncnt. 

Article I. 

Sec. 1. This body shall be knnvi'n as the Gran.-! Encamp- 
ment of the Kansas Legion, of Kansas Territory, and shall 
be composed of reprea^'ntatives elected from each subor- 
dinate regiment existing in the Territory, as hereinalter pro- 
vided. 

Skc. 2. At the first meeting-nights in January and July, 
one representative from each subordinat<! regiment, and 
one additional representative for every titty uienibers, shall 
be elected as members of this Grand body, the rei,'imcnt 
having power to fill vacancies in case of the inability of any 
delegate to attend any meeting of the Grand Encampment: 
Provided, that should any subordinate regiment be insti- 
tuted between the times above specified, they may have the 
power to elect their repri'sentatives at such time as will in- 
sure them a delef.Mte lo the Grand Eneampnieiit. 

Sec. 3. The regular sessicms or the Grand Encampment 
shall be held on the third Wednesday of January and July, 
at such hour and place as shall be selected by the Encamp- 
ment at the previous seini-annnal session. 

Article II. 

Sec. 1. The officers of the Grand Encampment shall con- 
sist of a Grand General, Grand Vice General, Grand tiuar- 
termaster. Grand Paymaster, Griind Aid, two Grand Senti- 
nels, and Grand Chaplain, to be elected annually, by ballot, 
at the January session, with the exception of the Sentinels 
and Chaplain, who shall be appointed by the General for 
each meeting. 

Sec. 2. The Grand General shall preside at all meetingu 
of the Grand Encampn\ent. He shall call special meetings 
at the written request of five representatives, or when he may 
deem it necessary to do so. He shall have a generiU supervision 
of the organization in the Territory. He shall have power 
to grant dispensations for the formation of subordinate regi 
inents at such places as he may deem best for the well'are 
of the cause and order, and may authorize initiations of 
members in places where reginmnts are to be organized, 
under such regulation as tlie Grand Encampment may 
adopt. He may visit personally, or by deputy, all reg- 
iments under his jurisdiction, and require a strict com- 
pliance with the rules and usages of the organization, and 
shall report to ttie Grand Encampment, at each session 
thereof, the cetult of his labors, with a correct and succinct 
statement of the order throughout the Territory. 

Sec. 3. The Grand Vice General shall iierform the duties 
of the Grand General in his absence. 

Sec. 4. The Grand tiuanermaster shall keep a correct 
minute of the proceedings of each meeting, and an accurate 
roll of the members. He shall give information of all meet- 
ings by written or printed notice to the Colonel of each 
subordinate regiment. He shall collect and pay over to the 
(iiand Paymaster all sums due the Grand Encampment. 
He shall attend to such other business as may properly be 
required of him by virtue of his office. 

Sec. 5. The Grand Paymaster shall have charge of all 
moneys belonging to the Grand Encampment. He shall 
attend Jio all r<!ceipts and disbursements. He shall keep a 
regular and correct accountof his doings, which shall ataU 
times he open to the officers of the (jrand Encanipmeut, 
and make a faithful and correct statement of tlie finances 
at each session thereof. 

Sec. 6. The other officers shall perform such duties as 
usually appertain to their respective offices, under the gen- 
eral direction of the presiding officer. 

Article III. 

Sec. 1. The Grand Encampment shall have power to es- 
tablish such by-laws and rules lor their own government as 
it shall deem necessary, niakegener.il provision for the pun- 
ishment of oflVnses against the laws of the order ; try all 
appeals from decision of sniiordinate reginieiits ; and estab- 
lish such constitutions for subordinate regiments under its 
juriadictiou as tiieir welfare aud (jood govcrumeut may 



9^ 



require: Provided, The Kame be in accordance with the 
constitution and laws of the Grand Encanipnicnt. 

Sec. 2. The Grand Encampment sliall have power to 
lev}' a tax upon the subordinate reginu'iits to pay the ordi- 
nary and proper e.vprn.ses of" tlie Grand Encampment, by 
reijuiring otCacli subordinate regiment tliat they liave two 
of our printed books of rituals and constitutions, to be fur- 
nished at one dollar per copy, and a ctiartcr at fifty cents 
per copy ; and if the above tax is found insuflicient to meet 
the ordinary expenses of the Grand Encampment, they may 
re(iuire of subordinates such other tax as will meet the act- 
ual expenses incurred. 

Sec. 3. The Grand Encampment shall have power to 
establish term pass-words, to be communicated by the 
Grand General to the Colonel of each regiment. 

Sec. 4. The Grand Encampment shall make all nomina- 
tions for territorial officers at large ; and immediately after 
such nominations shall have been made, the Grand General 
shall conmiunicate the result to every regiment in the Ter- 
ritory. 

Article IV. 

Petitions for charlers for subordinate regiments must be 
signed by at least five members of the order, addressed to 
the Grand General, and have the accompany ing fee of .*2 50 
inclosed, which will entitle them to the charter, book of 
rituals, constitutions, &c. 

Article V. 
Five members shall constitute a quorum fordoing busi- 
ness. 

Article VI. 
Any proposed alteration of, or amendment to, this con- 
stitution, shall be submitted to the Grand Encampment at 
least one meeting before being acted upon, when, if two 
thirds of the members present at said regular meeting vote 
for it, it shall be adopted. 

Officers of Grand Encampment. 

Grand Genera! — Rev. G. W. Hutchinson, Lavrcnce, K. T. 
Grand Vice General — C. K. Holliday, Topeka, K. T. 
Grand (iuartermaster — J. K. Goodin, Laincnce, K. T. 
Grand Paymaster — Ch.irles Leib, M. U., Leavenworth 
City, K'. T. 

Constitution of Subordinate Regiments. 
We, whose names are annexed, do hereby pledge our- 
selves to be governed by the following constitution : 

Article I. 

This organization shall be known as Regiment No. 

of the Kansas Legion. 

Article II. 

Sec. 1. Any person can become aniember of this Legion 
who will pledge himself favorable to the freedom of Kansas, 
and is eighteen years of age. Persons being received under 
twenty-one years of age must be vouched for by three 
members. 

Sec. 2. Tlie name of any pereon proposed for meinber- 
ehip shall be vouched for by one or more members, when 
the candidate shall bo voted for, and three negative votes 
shall beeipiivaleiit to a rejection: Provided, 'VhM no per- 
son shall be proposed for membersliip in any regiment other 
tlian that located in any city, town, or district, in which 
such person resides. 

Sec. 3. Any member applying for an honorable discharge 
from liis regiment shall, upon vote of the members present 
at the time of such application, be entitled to a certificate 
signed by the Colonel and countersigned by the Quartermas- 
ter, upon the payment of ten cents for such certificate ; and 
any such member being desirous of becoming a member of 
another regiment, shall present his certificate, being subject 
to tlic same vote as a new applicant. 

Sec. 4. Members of the order shall have the right of 
debate in other regiuients than their own. Their right to 
vote, however, shall be confined exclusively to Um regiment 
witb which they are connected. 

Article III. 

Sec. 1. The officers of each subordinate regiment shall 
consist of a Colonel, I,ieutenaiit Colonel, Quarferinaster, 
Paymaster, Aid, and two Sentinels, who shall be elected 
by ballot on first meeting nights of .lanuary and July. 

"Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Colonel to preside, en- : 
force a due; observance of the several constitutions, laws, i 
and rigulaiions, and secure a proper respect for the Terri- , 
torial Grand Encampment and its officers ; see that all offi- 
cers and members of committees perform tlicir respective J 



duties; appoint all officers and committees not otherwise 
provided for; give the easting vote when a tie may occur, 
except in tlie election of officers; have special charge of 
the constitution and laws; draw on the Paymaster for all 
demands on the regiment; direct the Quartermaster to 
call special meetings when necessary ; and perform all other 
duties p(ntaining to the office. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Lieutenant Colonel to 
assist the Colonel in the performance of his duty ; have 
special charge of the doors ; and, in the absence of the Col- 
onel, preside. 

Skc. 4. It shall be the duty of the Quartermaster to keep 
an accurate record of the proceedings of the regiment, with 
a roll of the members' names ; notify members wlicn or- 
dered by the Colonel or a vote of the regiment; anc per- 
form all other duties pertaining to the office. 

Sec. .5. It shall be the duty of the Paymaster to receive 
all moneys of the regiment; pay all demands when author- 
ized by the Colonel ; keep an accurate account of all moneys 
received and expended ; exhibit to the regiment on the last 
meeting of each quarter, a statement of the funds, and at the 
end of every six months give a correct written report of the 
recei|)ts and disbursements of the term. 

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Aid to examine tlie 
members at the opening of the regiment, and report any 
who are incorrect to the Colonel ; to assist at the initiation 
of persons, and see that the brethren are made comfortable 
during the sittings of the regiment. 

Sec. 7. It shall he the duly of the Inside Sentinel to 
attend to the inside door, and report to the Lieutenant Col- 
onel the names aiid regiments of the persons applying fiir 
admission, and admit siich as the Lieutenant Colonel may 
order; but to admit no one without the passwords, unless 
otherwise ordered by the Colonel after being vouched for 
by a member of the regiment. 

Sec. 8. It shall be the d>ny of the Outside Senthiel to 
attend to the outside door, and admit no person without the 
password except candidates and tho.se he may know to be 
member.s of the order, or who are vouched for by a mem- 
ber of the regiment. 

Article IV. 

At the first meeting in the months of January and July 
respectively, there shall be elected by each regiment one 
delegate or representative to the Grand Encampment, and 
one additional representative for each fifty members belong- 
ing to the regiment. 

Article V. 

Sec. 1. All charges and offenses preferred against a 
member shall be duly specified in writing, when they shall 
be referred to a special committee, who shall summon such 
member to appear before them to answer to the allegation 
set forth ; and after a fair and impartial examination there- 
of, report their decision to the regiment, which shall at once 
proceed to the consideration and disposal of the case. 

Sec. 2. Any member who shall be proved guilty of vio- 
lating any principle of the order, or oflending against these 
articles, or otherwise nn'litating against the interests of the 
organization, shall be subj<et to reprimand, suspension, or 
expulsion, as two thirds of the members present at any 
regular meeting may determine. When a member shall 
be expelled for revealing the secrets of the order, or mil- 
itating against the interests of the future freedom of Kan- 
sas, his name shall be stricken from the roll, and sent to ail 
the regiments of the Territory as a man destitute of the 
principles of truth, honor, and integrity. 

Sec. 3. The regiments located in each and every elec- 
tion district shall make nominations for all candidates for 
office in their respective districts ; but where there shall be 
two or more regiments in anyone election district, of what- 
ever kind.thennoniinntions shall be made by delegates from 
the respective Encampments within said district ; each Eti- 
eami)nicnt being entitled to one delegate, and one additional 
delegate for each and every twenty members over and above 
tlieir first twenty members. 

The regiments shall make nominations for the territorial 
officers at large, through their delegates and the Grand En- 
campment. 

Article VI. 

The quorum for business in a regiment shall consist of 
not less than five members. 

Article VII. 

Any regiment shall have power to establish such by-law 

and rules as may be deemed expedient : Piovided, They ac 

cord with the Grand Territorial Encampment, subject a 

all times to their approval or rejection. 



10 



Artict.k VIII. 
All money, except herein providL'iljSli.iIl l>c raised by vote 
aiid :i;!sussiiiuut of uieiiibers belonging to tlie regiiuciits. 

AnTici.K IX. 

Sec. 1. Each repimeiit shall meet at least twice per 
roontli, at such hour and place as shall be selected by Uic 
regiment ut the previou.s se.-;sion. 

Sec. 2. As soon ;u< each and every regiment shall nuniher 
tl)irly members upon ir.x statute rnli, it shall proceed I'ortli- 
with to organize an eflicient n^giilar military company. 

Article X. 
Any proposed alfrations of, or amendment to, iliis eon- 
.etitution shall be submitted in writing to ilu' Grand Encamp- 
ment at least one meeting previous to being acted upon. 

Ritual of S'lbordinate Regiments — Opening Ceremony. — 
The Colonel. Lieutenant Colonel, Quartermaster, I'ay- 
niastcr. Aiil, and Sentinels, being in their respective places, 
the regiment shall be called to order, and thus addressed by the 
Colonel : 

Colonel.— FvWow soldiers in the free-State army — the 
liour has arrived when we must resume the duties devolv- 
ing upon us. L(;t us each, with a heart devoted to justice, 
jiairiotism, and liberty, attend closely to all the regulations 
laid down for our government and action, each laboring to 
iniikc this review pleasant and profitable to ourselves, and 
a blessing to our country. 

^irf.— Are the Sentinels at their posts with closed doors? 

^W.— They are. 

Colonel.~A\t\, you will now review the troops in the 
regiment passwords. 

^iid, (after examinutijn.) — I have examined them per- 
sonally, and tind each correct. 

Colonel. — I pronoimce this regiment arrayed and ready 
for service. 

Order of Business. 

1st.— Reading the minutes by the Quartermaster. 

2d. — Proposals tor new recruits. 

3d. — Voting lor same. 

4th. — Initiation of recruits. 

5th. — Reports of committees. 

6th. — Unfinished bu-iiiess appearing on the miimtcs. 

7th. — Miscellaneous business. 

8th. — Adjournment. 

Initiation. 

(The mcmhcr proposing a friend for mcmhership shall 
announce Idni p:hen in readiness; and at the proper tintc the 
Md shall present him to the Colonel and thus address him :) 
Worthy Colonel, flie carididate proposed and vouched for 
is now in readiness for enlistment in our army. 

Colonel — Tlie Aid will present the candidate to the Ciuar- 
termaster, [thus addressing him :] 

^i(J.— Quartermaster, I am directed by our Colonel to 
present to you this person, who is desirous of enlisting in 
our ranks. 

Q,uartcrin^(ster. — Sir, you have doubth^ss been informed 
of the general design of the institution to which you now 
seek admission. I'ei mil me, however, by authority, to slate 
to you more fully those principles, that you ni.iy more 
clearly uiid(>rstand what you are to expect. You will be 
required, first, to take an t)l)liiration of secrecy, holding up 
your right liand and repeating after me ; when 1 pronounce 
my name ) <iU pronounce yours : 

Obligation. 

I, , solemnly pledee my honor as a man that I will 

never reveal, or cause to be revealed, in any manner, or to 
any person, the fact tliat I have been an applicant for admis- 
sion to this institution, or anything which has, or may here- 
after be, comuiunieated to mc, or the names of the persons 
present: all this I promise. 

Quarter mfiste^-. — Tliis institution is temporary and local 
in its character and nature. It is designed for the Territory 
of Kansas, and i> to continue at least until the vote shall 
have .settled the question a.< to wliether Kansas shall be a 
FREEora SLAVE State. Therequirenientsof thisinstitulion 
will not interfere with rights of conscience, or the duties 
you owe to yourselves, your families, your country, or your 
Cod. They will conflict with no law of the land. VVeseek, 
ill a nohl^', honorable, and Just manner, to accomplish two 
things: Virst, to secure to Kansas the blessing and prosper- 
ity of beina a free State; and, second, to protect the ballot- 
bux from the leprous touch nC unprincipled men. Such aic 
our principles. Do you still desiie admission? 

Candidate. — I do. 



j Quartermaster. — You will then enroll your name in full 
I upon this book, after which the Aid will conduct you to the 
j Colonel for further instructions. 

I k^i'rf.— Worthy Colonel, 1 am directed to present this 
j per.ion to you for instructions. 

Colonel. — Sir, it is with joy we vvplcome you to this place, 

to tliese scenes, and to this sacred alliance. We triLst you 

will find in us that purity of purpose, and we will find in 

you fucli nobleness and truth, that this union m:i}' result 

in constantly increasing regard, confidence, and love be- 

' tween us. This country is youi-s by adoption; and, lielong- 

j ing to you and your children, yon feel a deep interest in its 

! prosperity, its honor, and its destiny. VYe are here, where 

j slavery intends making its next innovation; already we have 

• h:id a loretasto of its contaminatiiia toucli ; and knowing 

' that strength lies in union — feelins that our country and our 

I God demands of lis in this emergency that every man shall 

1 do his duty, we have handed ourselvi-s togiilier undersolemn 

I bonds, in oidcr that we may know our own strength, may 

[ act in concert throughout this whole Territory, and thus 

j exert an intluenee, possess an etliciency,aiid enjoy personal 

I and civil protection, which as mere individuals we could 

not obtain. With these explanations upon our P'ut, wo shall 

ask of you that you take with us an obligation, placing 

yourself in the same attitude as before: 

Obligation. 

I, ,in the most solemn manner, liere, in the presence 

of Hcavfin and these witnesses, bind myself that J v.'ill nevijr 
reveal, or cause to be revealed, neither by word, look, or 
sign, by writing, printing, ciigruving, painting, or in any 
manner whatsoever, anything pertaining to this institution, 
save to persons duly qualified to receive the same. I will 
never reveal the nature of the organization, the place of 
meeting, the fact that any jierson is a member of the same, 
or even the existence of the organization, except to persons 
legally qualified to receive the same. 

Shoulil I at any time withdraw, or be suspended, or 
expelled from this organization, I will keep this obligiition 
to tlie end of life. If any books, papers, or moneys, belong- 
ing to this orjjaiiization, be intrusted to my care or keeping, 
I will faithfully and completely deliver up the same to my 
successor in office or any one legally authorized to receive 
them. I will never, knou-ingly, propose a person for mem- 
bership in this order who is not in favor of making Kansas 
a Free State, and whom I feel satisfied will exert his 
entire influence to bring about this result. 1 will support, 
maintain, and abide by any honorable movement made by 
the organization to secure this great end, which will not 
conflict with the laws of the country and the Constitution 
of the United States. I will unflinchingly vote lor and 
support the candidates nominated by this organization, iu 
preference to any and all others. 

To all of this obligation I do most solemnly promise and 
alHrm, binding myself under the penalty of being expelled 
from this organization, and having my name published to 
tlie several territorial encampments as a perjurer before 
Heaven and a traitor to my country; of passing through life 
scorned and reviled by men, frowned on by devils, forsaken 
by angels, and abiuidoned by God. 

Colonel. — Gentlemen, you have enlisted in a noble 
army, battling in a glorious cause. For thirty-three years 
this soil has been to us considered free. We live in Kan- 
p.'V!. We love her hills, her prairies, her streams, and her 
s.kies. We wish to build her up a noble State. Believing 
that slavery mak.'s ignorant men and ignorant States, for 
ourselves and our children we desire such enactments as 
wiU insure to us intelligent laws, a public jiolicy, and an 
educated people. We believe that slavery spreads im- 
morality and licentiousness through the communities where 
it exists; and wish for ourselves, for our wives, and for our 
children, to live in aland where no class of people are, by 
legal compuhion, made the victims of the brutal passions of 
another class. We wish and we expect to iiave here a 
State where the rijlit of opinion shall not insure persecu- 
tion, and where freedom of speech shall not be a crime. 
In a word, if we make Kansas free, education, morality, 
religion, infernal p(?ace, and pecuiiiary success will be 
vastly increased among us. If treacherous or slothful to 
the duties devolving upon ih, we briiu; a deep disgrace and 
mortal iinguish in our very midst, which will be more tor- 
menting llian the scorpion's sting. 

There are signs by which members of this organization 
may kno\v each other. (Colonel inll gire them to candi- 
dates.) There is also a grip. There is a certifying con- 
versation and signals of distress ; there are pass-words, 
which none can communicate to you save the presiding 
oflicor, or upon his authority, and you cannot coinmunieate 
them to another save to the Aid upon your examination. 
Tliese pass-words are invariably given in a whi»jJ0r. 



11 



Instructions on ciitniiifi rci.'imeiits arc these : At outer 
door, any alarm ; lien; yoii will {livi; tlie sentinel the pass- 
word. At inner door, three raps; here you will jjive tlie 
si'ntinel your name, number ol" your re<;inient, and explana- 
tion to the term i)ass-word. Salute the prosidini; otiieer, 
both in your in<:ress and egress, by placing right liaiui on 
brcu£t and gently bowing. 

Closing Vcrrrwmj. 
Colonel. — Fellow-soldiers, I tru^t this review has been 
l)Oth pleasant and profitable to all. We met as friends ; lot 
us part as brothers ; remenihering that we .seek no wronsrto 
any ; and our bond of union in battling for the ri?lit must 
teiid to make us better men, better neighbors, and lutter 
citizens. We thank you for your kindness and attention, 
and invite you all to be present at our ne.^t review, to he 

liolden at '■ ; — , on next, at — o'clock, 

p.m. Sentinels, you v.ill open the doors., that our soldiers 
liiay retire pleasantly and in order. 

The following prcnmhle and resolution was passed at the 
first session of the Grand Encampment, held at Lawrence, 
Febninry 8, I80.0: 

" M'hereas, while we regard the freedom of Kansas Ter- 
ritory as the highest of all iiolitical considerations which 
may now or hereafter engage our attention as a free and 
intelligent people, we at the same time regard it as impolitic 
and wniiiL' to adopt any line of policy that may in any man 
ner interlere with the domestic relations of our neighboring 
States or Territories: therefore, 

'• ResolreJ, That we hold it to be ju.st and proper in our 
relations will) our sister States, as a fundamental principle 
of action, auj most promotive of the public good of the 
Territory, that laws preventing the emigration of either 
slaves or free negroes be enacted by our coming General 
AssemWv, and eventually ingrafted in the constitution of 
tjie State." 

CJiartcr of the Ka7isn^ Legion. 

United States of America, Territory of Kansas. 

Knoiv all men by th-ese presenis, That we, the Grand En- 
campment of the Kansas Legion of Kansas Territory, have 
created, chartered, and emi)owered, and by these presents, 

do create, charter, and empower, George F. Warren 

to be regiment , No. , of the Kansas Legion ; and 

as such they are hereby invested with all and singular the 
authority and privileges with which each and every regi- 
ment is invested, working under a charter from the Grand 
Encampment. 

In witness whereof, we hereunto set our hands this 16lh 
dav of August, one thousand eisht huinlred and fit'tv-five. 
G. W. HaTCtllNSON, Grand General. 
Atte.st: J. K. GooDiN, Grand (Quartermaster. 

When did these men assemble to carry out 
their purposes .' In the hour of night, when the 
sun had vailed its face. Fit occasion for the con- 
summation of such infamous and infernal pur- 
*poses ! They hold their midnight conclaves and 
bind themselves together by oaths that slavery 
shall never pollute the virgin soil of Kansas. This 
is a new order, and after its disclosures, it is all 
moonshitie to talk of Scott's tactics. This dis- 
closes a now system of military tactics — a pseudo 
political-roligious-military compound to establish 
freedom in the Territory of Kansas. Its object 
is to prevent slaves or free negroes from enter- 
ing the Territory, through the action of the self- 
constituted Legislature, of which the Senator 
fVom Massachusetts spoke. Now, I wish to read 
the names of the officers of this association: 
" Grand General — Reverend " — My God ! 

Mr. HALE. That is a very good name. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. What.? 

Mr. HALE. I thought you said, " Reverend 
my God." 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. I do not think 
tliat God has anything to do with this concern. 
You misunderstood me, if you supposed that I 
imagined for a single moment tliat he had any- 
thing to do with you or your folks. [Laughter.] 
I have always understood that the Devil had a 



way of taking care of Iiis own, and hence I ac- 
count for your presence here. [Laughter.] 

But, sir, here is a new order of tilings. A ft^w 
years since wc made a lieutenant general. We 
thought that was a great step in promotion of the 
military of the Government of the United States, 
but it seems we were behind the day. I had sup- 
posed that Lieutenant General Wiiifield Scott was 
the greatest living military chiefliiin of tlu^ world 
— that he had no competitor and no rival in this or 
in the other hemisphere. But it seems tliat 1 am 
mistaken. Her(> is a higher grade. Here is the 
grade of Grand Genertil of the Legion of Ktmsas. 
And who is the man .' " The Rev. G. W. Hutch- 
inson." Sir, I should like to see a Grand Gen- 
eral, with sacerdotal robes upon him. A nice 
man to enter into tlie sanctuary! The Rev. Mr. 
Hutchinson, a minister of the peaceful Gospel of 
Christ, in a midnight conclave, a Grand General! 
Sir, he wears the livery of Heaven to serve the 
Devil in, and combines men together to prevent 
the free exercise of the rights of Amerl<:an citi- 
zens to go to the common Territories of the 
Union. It is another link in the chain showing 
the peaceful character of the New England Asso- 
ciation. 

But, Mr. President, I must return to the point. 
I say that whatever wrongs have taken place — • 
and all rnen must deplore them — v.'b.ile geittlemen 
stand up here and assume that they have all re- 
sulted from the intemperance and the indiscretion 
of the citizens on tlie Missouri border, I rely on 
the f\icts at least to establish a division of respons- 
ibility for those enormities. I shall not, how- 
ever, dwell upon that point, but pass on as rapidly 
as I can. The Senator from Massachusetts read, 
with much feeling and indignation, a portion of 
the laws passed by the Legislature of Kansas on 
the subject of slavery; and! will read the extract, 
in order that it may be understood: 

" I wish to call the attention of the Senate and of the 
country to some of these laws forced upon the people who 
were allured to Kansas by the assurance that they were em- 
powered to shape their own institutions. Here is a precious 
enactment ; 

"' If any person print, write, introduce into, or publish, 
' or circulate, or cause to be brouglit into, printed, written, 
' published, or circulated, or shall knowingly aid or .assist in 
' bringing into, printing, publishins. oreireiiliUing within the 
' TerriKny, any book, jiaper, pamplilet, inagiU'.iii", Xv.mA hill, 
' or circular, containing any slateinents,rirgu:nents. opinion, 
' sentiment, doctrine, advice, or innuendo, caleuhited to 
' produce a disorderly, dangerous, or rebellious disafiectiou 
' among the slaves in this Territoi-y, or to induce such slaves 
' to escape from the service of tiieir niasttrs, or to resist 
'their authority, shall be guilty of a felony, and bo punished 
' by imprisonment, at hard labor, for a term not less than 
'live years.' " 

The Senator thinks that this is one of the most 
monstrous propositions ever subniittr;d to a civil- 
ized country. I would not be ungenerous to the 
Senator; but I would like to ask him, if he does 
not hold it to be true that every people have a 
right to protect themselves in the enjoyment of 
their property under tlie Constitution and laws 
of the country.' This is pronounced tolje one of 
'he most unchristian enactments that ever de- 
graded or disgraced any age of the world. That 
places the representatives of every southern State 
of this Union under the terrible denunciations of 
the Senator. 1 ask, if there be a southern State 
in the Union which has not a law similar in its 
purport, in its objects, and its intention.' There 
IS not a southern State which has not felt itself 



12 



constraiiicd to pass stringent, crupl, and unchris- 
tian laws, as the Senator would call them, because 
of the infrrnal emissaries wiio are sent to excite 
insurrection amongst our slaves, inciting tliem to 
butcher our wives and our children. When they 
come therewith all the peaceful robes of puritan- 
ism, and insidiously disseminate their poison, and 
we pass laws for our jirotection, and for the pro- 
tection of our wives and daughters, we are held 
up to the gaze of the world as monsters. Have 
you no law to protect the rights of persons and 
property in JNlassachusetts? Have you no law 
to arraign and try and punish, when convicted, 
the wretch who applies the torch to your dwell- 
ing, or murders an innocent man U]ion the high- 
ways.' This is all right; but when, in the exer- 
cise of our sovereign rights as members of this 
Confederacy, we pass a law which we believe to 
be essential to our safety, we are held up to the 
world as monsters. The only difference between 
your law and ours is, that you liave exhausted 
your energies, taxed your intellect to devise pun- 
ishment commensurate with the rewards due to 
the individual and petty assassin or incendiary; 
but we have been called upon to pass laws that 
will bring to condign punishment the stupendous 
wholesale murderer, who, under the guise of char- 
ity and benevolence, finds his way to our homes 
to incite insurrection among our negroes, to burn 
our houses, to dishonor our families, and to 
butcher us. Sir, I would make the law which the 
Senatorquoted a little different. Instead of making 
it a penitentiary offense, I would hang the wretch 
until he was dead, dead, dead! Then let not the 
Senator vent all his holy liorror at southern people 
for protecting themselves against your corrupting, 
crawling, slimy emissaries, who stir up insurrec- 
tion amidst the corruptions of the negro cabin. 

I am following the Senator's speech as nearly 
as I can. I will not say that it is erratic or dis- 
jointed. I have no doubt it is very satisfactory 
to himself and his friends, and I am not disposed 
to interrupt their self-complacency. The Sena- 
tor attacks the legality of the organized legisla- 
tive body of Kansas, and assumes that the true 
Legislature is to be found in that which is to as- 
semble hereafter. I will read his remarks in order 
that there may be no mistake: 

" A coiiveiilidn of the piopic was called. Tliat conven- 
tion assfinbleil, framed a coustitulion, tlie people ratitiud 
it, and that constitution is now submitted for the action of 
the Congress of the (Jiiitcd States. The Senator from Con- 
necticut denounces it as a ' spurious convention.' " 

What sort of a convention was it.' What sort 
of a constitution was it? I ask the Senator to 
tell nie if he knows how many voters there were 
to confirm and ratify this glorioxis constitutinn of 
which he spoke ? If the Senator knows he would 
oblige mo by giving me the information. 

Mr. WitSON. "Mr. President, it is not in my 
power to give the Senator from Tennessee the 
number of persons who voted for the ratification 
of that constitution. The ratification was on the 
l.'ith day of December last — a few days after the 
tnaty was made by Gov(;rnor Shannon with the 
people of Lawrence. That treaty was made on 
the 9th of December. In the counties bordering 
upon JVIissouri, in many of the towns where a 
vote of several hundred could have been obUiined, 
no meetings were held. At Leavenworth, about 
two hundred votes were taken; and then the meet- 



ing was broken up by a body of men from Mis- 
souri, who had been enrolled in the militia, and 
were dispersed. 

Mr. JOiXES, of Tennessee. I asked the Sena- 
tor, in good faith, if he knew how many persons 
were present and voted for this celebrated consti- 
tution which is to be presented here.' The Sena- 
tor says it has been presented. I was not aware 
of that; but it may nave been presented in the 
other House. I desire to know precisely how 
many votes were cast. It will be remembered 
that the friends of the Free-Soil or the free State 
party, who pr>5sent this constitution here, and ask 
for admission as one of the States of the Union, 
assume that there are ten thousand voters in the 
Territory of Kansas. There is some difference 
of opinion upon that point. Tlie surveyor gen- 
eral of Kansas, when called upon by the Depart-' 
ment, a few days since, to express an opinion as 
to the number of voters in the Territory, assumed, 
on the best data he could get, that there were only 
six thousand. Now, I wish to tell the Senate 
how many votes were given for this celebrated 
constitution, which we arc to be called uj)on, very 
soon, to indorse, ratify, and accept. My inform- 
ation is derived from the Herald of Freedom, pub- 
lished in Kansas, as given to me by an honorable 
and reliable gentleman of that Territory. At 
Lawrence there were three hundred and seventeen 
votes, at Topeka one hundred and seventy-two, 
and at Leavenworth, where the ballot-box was 
destroyed, there were one hundred and fifty-eight 
votes, as nearly as they could be counted; and at 
Tecumseh there were seventy-two votes. This 
constitutes the whole sum and substance of the 
entire vote cast for this famous constitution, as I 
am informed by a reliable gentleman — I give his 
name. Colonel Calhoun — who says he took the 
statement from the Herald of Freedom, one of 
your own papers. Then we have six hundred 
and seventy-nine votes confirming, approving, 
and indorsing this immortal constitution of free- 
dom, which we are asked to receive. 

I am very well aware that the Constitution of 
the United States does not prescribe any given 
numbers of persons as necessary to form a State 
constitution and seek admission into the Union; 
but if there were ten thousand voters, or if tliere < 
were six thousand, and this constitution received 
the ratification of only six hundred and seventy- 
nine voters, is there a sane man in the Senate 
who would entertain the proposition for a moment ? 
Suppose it had received six thousand votes, or 
ten thousand votes, are we prepared, as American 
Senators, to admit them into the Union.' How 
many persons are required now to entitle a district 
in any State to a Representative in the otluT branch 
of Congress .' I believe the present ratio is ninety- 
three thousand. Then, on what principle is this 
new constitution to be inaugurated in Kansas by 
the votes of six hundred and seventy-nine men.' 
Are they sufficient to bring a State into the Union.' 
The Senator says: 

" This is the first time in the history of this country when 
tlui people have assemliled in their priuiary capaciiy, and 
exe'rcisi'd their right, tlicir inborn natural right, to change 
their aoveriimeut at their pleasure, and then been hold up 
as traitors by the Government of the country."' 

Nobody will suppose, not even the Senator 
from Massachusetts, that I am an advocate of 
this Administration. I had no part or lot in 



13 



bring'ing it into existence; and, therefdre, the 
Senator cannot apjily to inc a term wliicli he 
applied to the Senator from Connecticut the other 
day — I will not express any opinion as to the 
courtesy of the remark — "the President's Sen- 
ntor." I am nobody's Senator, except in part, 
and very imperfectly, a Senator of the State of 
Teiinch^'sei;. The Senator from Massachusetts says 
this is the first time when men who have dared 
to assert the prerogative of changing the form of 
their government have been denounced as traitors. 
The Senator's reading of history docs not coincide 
with mine. Was there not an attempt made in 
Rhode Island? I believe the Si^nator alluded to 
that Dorr rebellion. Were not those men de- 
nounced as traitors? I ask the Senate whether, 
when Dorr and his free-suffrage party attempted 
to establish a government according to the will 
of a majority of the people of Rhode Island, as 
they said, Massachusetts did not stand in the 
front rank in denunciation of that movement? 

Mr. WILSON. With the Senator's permis- 
sion, I wisli simply to explain the position of 
Massachusetts at that time. The Governor of 
Massachusetts, on application iTiadc by the Adju- 
tant General of the Stale of Rhode Island, loaned 
the arn^s of the State without authority of law. 
That administration was called to a strict account, 
and was driven from power for that act, though 
the party in Massachusetts had nearly twenty 
thousand majority. What I meant to say the 
other day was, that they were not held up by the 
Government of the countrj^ as traitors. I do not 
think the Goverjiment of John Tyler, at that day, 
with General Gushing, and the few other mem- 
bers of the Tyler guard in the other House, did 
hold up as traitors the men iii Rhode Island; but 
they undertook to maintain order, and to sustain 
the Government as it existed. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Mr. President, I 
am no eulogist of John Tyler or of Caleb Cush- 
ing, but I was in quest of a fact; and I undertake 
to assert here, from my best convictions, that 
during that rebellion, independent of John Tyler 
or Caleb Gushing, there was a Daniel Webster, 
who was then Secretary of State, and that whole 
proceeding received the bitter condemnation of 
the godlike Daniel, at whose shrine, so far as an 
honorable and bold and chivalrous man could, 
the Senator himself worshipped. More than that: 
if my memory does not fail me very much, the 
Governor of Massachusetts issued his proclama- 
tion and his warrant for the arrest of the traitor, 
Thomas W. Dorr, if he could be found within 
the limits of Massachusetts. If I am mistaken 
in that, I liope I shall be corrected; but such is 
my recollection. I have not the executive records 
before me, but I know that Massachusetts, which 
was then at the head of the Whig column, was 
in bitter denunciation of the Dorr movement in 
Rhode Island. President Tyler did not denounce 
these men as traitors. His proclamation was 
never issued, but it was placed in the hands of 
an officer to be issued on the happening of a cer- 
tain contingency. Very good men have been 
denounced as traitors. I believe the Senator from 
Massachusetts may consider himself in that cat- 
egory. I may have been so denoun(;ed; but I 
think it a gross slander. Every man of fairness 
must admit that, when any party of men attempt 
a forcible resistance to the constituted authority 



of the country, they arc traitors. That these men 
have attemjited this I trust I shall prove in a few 
moments, and then I shall haVe done. 

The Senator from Massachusetts dwelt with 
much emphasis and interest u]>on the siege of 
Lawrence, in which the Miles Standish of Kansas 
acted as general; and he commented with marked 
severity upon the conduct of Governor Shannon 
upon that occasion. Now, I feel that it is my 
]irivilegi>, and to some extent my duty, to pay 
some attenti(m to the attacks which have been 
made on Governor Shannon by the Senator from 
Massachusetts. The affair at Lawrence seems to 
l)e regarded by the Senator as a fit opportunity 
for flashing forth his eloquence. He arraigns 
Governor Shannon, and General Atchison, and 
General Stringfcllow— for what ? The sheriff of 
the county of Douglas had arrested a man under 
a warrant properly issued; and while in the exe- 
cution of his duty as a sworn officer he was at- 
tacked and his prisoner rescued — by whom? The 
Senator says, by about fifteen persons, none of 
them residents of Lawrence. Is it not very strange 
that the Senator will assume to know more of the 
facts, transpiring a thousand miles oflf, than men, 
equally honorable, who are upon the ground? 
The sheriff asserts that, while he was in the 
peaceful exercise of his duty, and while he was 
executing the law, he was set upon by about forty 
ruffians, and his prisoner taken from his custody. 
The Senator thinks there v/ere but fifteen. The 
sheriff who was there says there were forty. 
Here is another point of difference between the 
Senator and his witness, General Pomeroy. Be- 
fore, it was a difference of a thousand; now there 
is the difference between fifteen and forty. That, 
I admit, is a very small affair, and does not affect 
the question of principle. I say, the sheriff was 
prevented from dischai'ging his duty in executing 
the law. The people of Kansas assembled to- 
gether for the purpose of enforcing the law. Who 
were the aggressors? Let the facts and the truth 
answer. The peo})le of Kansas went there to 
enforce thelaw;theywentarmed. Why? Because 
the prisoner had been rescued from the hands of 
the officer, was carried to Lawrence, and an armed 
force was there to prevent the execution of the 
law. The Senator stated, the other day, in his 
speech, as I understood liim, that there were but 
three hundred Sharpe's rifles in Lawrence. He 
spoke positively as to the number. It occurred to 
me, then, that it was very strange that the Senator 
could know with precision how many Sharpe's 
rifles were there, unless he had been in communi- 
cation with this peaceful emigrant aid society. 
He says that there were but three hundred rifles. 
How does he know it; how could he know it ? 
He was not there. According to the most reliable 
authority, there were between eight hundred and 
one thousand Sharpe's rifles there. How did 
those rifles get there? Did tlie emigrants take 
them? Were they taken by those who were so 
very poor and feeble that charity had to be ex- 
tended to carry many of them there? Sir, I do 
not know how they got there; but that they are 
there is a fact th.at is certified to by the Governor 
of the Territory. 

Then, sir, when they assumed tlic strong power 
of arresting the execution of the law, taking from 
the duly constituted officer of the Government a 
prisoner whom he lu\d in charge, the people of 



14 



Kansas rose in tlieir majesty and strcnglli to see | 
that the law sliould bo executed. General Atchi- 
son, General Strinjjfeilow, and Governor Shan- 
non go there, and for that act of benevolence and j 
Satriotisni tliere is iiotliing; but condernnatirTn. i 
ir, I make no proclamation of personal responsi- 
bility for what I say, for that seems to me to savor , 
somewhat of that sort of chivalnj that has died out; 
but I say thnt General Atchison, General String- 
fellow, and Governor Shannon, went there to in- 
terfere between the cont(mding partii?s. Peace 
ensued. The Governor of the Territory is assailed 
by the Senator from Massachusetts in terms not 
only offensive but gross. I rejoice that part of j 
the charge preferred against him has been with- , 
drawn; and if I should not be deemed officious, 
I would suggesl to the Senator, whether it would 
not conij'urt best with his convictions of propriety 
and manliness to withdraw in public, as he has 
withheld iToni the press, one of the charges pre- 
ferred against Governor Shannon. There is, 
however, one charge left, to which I sliall give a 
passing notice. 

Governor Shannon labored to prevent the effu- 
sion of blood by an infuriated mob of border ruf- 
fians, if you pletise, thirsting, as the Senator says, 
for blood — two thousand strongagainstonly three 
hundred in the city of Lawrenee, with the Gov- 
ernor on the side of the two thousand. He goes 
and mediates and makes a treaty which the Sen- 
ator says dishonors and disgraces him. I sub- 
mit if tllat is not an extraordinary statement. A 
man wiih dominant power, able and ready to 
crush his adversary, makes concessions; and 
when he makes them the party turns upon him 
and says, " You are a craven imbecile; you are 
afraid to fight; you had to surrender to three hun- 
dred men." IVlore thnn that, after he had medi- 
eted (for which I think he deserves the favorable 
consi'ti.ration of the country) and prevented the 
shedding of fraternal blood, he is condemned 
and denounced; and then it is said, after the work 
was consummated, he siiowed himself to be the 
object of peity commiseration and contempt, be- 
cause he was drunk ! 

Mr. President, when, in the history, of the 
Senate, has a charge of that cliaracter been pre- 
ferred? Who will be able to stand when rumor 
is to assail the character of an honest ajid honor- 
ftl>le man, and he is to be stricken down by sen- 
atorial indorsement of rumor ? Wlu'ther he was 
drunk or not, I neither know nor care. 1 should 
regret if he was; but many noble, gtnierous, ar- 
dent, impulsive, true, and honest men have been 
overcome, and found in circumstances ofsuch mis- 
fortune. Sir, do not misunderstand me ;do not sup- 
pose I am advocating intemperance. If men are 
to be tried on rumor, how would gentlemen in the 
Senate escape? PIov/ many could stand the bat- 
teries of the infernal engines of calumny and slan- 
der that pervade this country from one end of it to 
the other ? Are we to rely upon rumor, that lying 
monster wliich has borrowed every tongue in 
liell with which to adorn itself? Sujipose he was 
drunk! He had seen his countryn)en arrayed in 
deadly hosiility. He was the chief executive of- 
ficer, to wliose hands the destiny, the peace, the 
lionor of that Territory was confided. With 
patriotic solicitude he mediate.? lietweeii the con- 
lending parties. After days of delay and anxiety 
he accomplishes the great work; and in the 



exultation of a generous and noble heart he yields 
to a weakness that pertains to many of us. It 
may be that the stoical education of the Senator 
from Massachusetts cannot appreciate such im- 
pulses as these. If he had been drunk upon that 
occasion, though I might have regretted it, I 
would not have put the seal of public reprobation 
and exposure upon him. No, sir; it was an 
exhibition of joy — of exultation and jjalriotic 
rejoicing. As good men as the Senator from 
Massachusetts have been betrayed into sucii a 
weakness, and will be again. 'Wliere is your 
boasted charity ? 

But, sir, towards the conclusion of his speech 
the Senator from Massachusetts, not content with 
assailing the proclamation of the President of the 
United States, and charging that it was one-sided, 
attacked the execution of the proclamation by 
the order of the Secretary of War, direcU.d to 
Colonel Sumner. I will not so far forget the 
proprieties of the Senate as to charge that Sena- 
tor with a purpose to misrepresent a. statement of 
facts; still I will say that it must, be the strangest 
perversion, the strangest obscuration of mind, 
that I ever saw, when the Senator arrived at the 
conclusion to which he seemed to arrive in regard 
to the letter of the Sy^cretary of War. What does 
he say? 

" IJiiSi- the Secretary tlien direct Colonel Sumner to do- 
f',"nd Kansas iigaiiist ' in vajivo aggression?' No, sir, no! 
The Secretary tlien issues the orders of the Government to 
Colonel Siniuii-r in these terms." 

The Senator quotes a part of the paragraph of 
the letter of the Secretary of War, and he leaves 
out the residue of it. Why, sir, that very letter 
commands Colonel Sumner to obey the procla- 
mation. What is this ]iroclamation? That he 
shall interpose the military arm of the Govern- 
ment, not only to arrest insurrection, but to pre- 
vent invasion. All invaders, whether from one 
State or another, come under the provisions of 
this proclamation; and tlie order was issued by 
the Secretary of War to the commanding officer 
to execute tiie proclamation. 

Nov/, sir, I come to the conclusion of the Sen- 
ator's speech. This is his summing up. Let me 
read it: 

'• I..eave these mo n now in Kansas, free from Missouri 
forays and administration cnrrn;itiou, and in spifc of tlie in- 
luunan, unchri.stian, and devilish act^ to b(^ found in the 
past legislation of the 'l\Mritory, they will l)rin<; Kansas here 
as they have done already, robed in the (:arnu'}ils of Free- 
dom. Men of the South, you who vvonid blast tlie virgin 
soil of Kansas with the blijhting, willierin't, eon-uining 
curse of slavery — you who would banisti the ediuated, 
selC-dependent, free laborinpr nten of the North, to make 
room for the untutored, thriUle.ss, dependent bondsmen of 
the South— vote down the free-State men of Kansas, if yon 
can ; but do jiot send ' border nitiians' to rob or burn their 
humble dwellings, and murder brave men for tUe crime of 
fid'lity to their cherished convictions. " 

I beg my friends and brctliren of the South 
to read this last admonition of tiie disttnguhhed 
Senator from Massachusetts, and carr)^ it home 
to your wives and your children. Cherish it as 
a bequest, a rich legacy from the Senator from 
Massachusetts. Tarnish not the virgin soil of 
Kansas with this ac ursed taint of slavery I Oh, 
most reverend Senator, how much we owe to you 
for your kindness and condescension in reading 
to us this homily on morals ! We shall endeavor 
to treasure up everything in it woithy of our 
consideration, we being the judges. Now, with 
all your denunciations and all your bitterness, 



15 



•wlint can you <iO ? What can you accomplisli? 
Will youfri,(r!iteii us — will j'ou cirivo v,s from the 
assertion and maintenance of our riglits? 1 think 
not. We ask nothins; but what the Constitution 
guaranties to us. That much we do ask. That 
much we will have. I do not wish to be excited 
about this matter. We do not mean to be driven 
from our propriety, but there is a fixed, immu- 
table, universal determination on the part of the 
Soutli never to be driven a single i)icn furtlier. 
We love this Union, and would cherisli it We 
■would live in peace and harmony with you, if 
you will allow us; but if we are forever to be the 
subjects of crimination , of condemnation , of vitu- 
peration, and of torture and assailmeiit of motive, 
to taunts and jeers — if this is to be our heritage, 
I, for one, am tired of it. If we arc not to enjoy 
our rights underthe Constitution, tell us so: and, 
if we may, let us separate peaceably and decently. 
If our property is to be confiscated, otir rights 
jeopardized, our honor assailed, I tell you in every 
liand tliere will be a knife, and there will be war 
to the knife and the knife to the hilt. Yet with 
cold, imperturbable perseverance, you pursue us 
with tautits and jeers. Your taunts and jeers, 
calling us slavery propagandists, slave-drivers, 
amount to very little. If it ministers to your re- 
fined and cultivated appetites, eat to your hearts' 
content. They excite no other feeling in the 
bosom of a southern man than that q[ contempt — 
inelTable, sublime contempt. As to your thn.ats, 
1 may be allowed a reply in the language of one 
of Scotland's chiefs: 

" Thj' threats, thy mercies we defy ; 
Let recreants yield who fear to die." 

Mr. HALE was replying to Mr. Jones, when 
Mr. J. rose, and said. 

Will the Senator allow me a few words.' 

Mr. HALE. Certainly. 

Mr. .TONES, of Tennessee. I do not propose, 
Mr. President, to detain the Senate for five min- 
utes: I am not in a condition to do so; but I am 
not willing that the Senator from New Hampshire 
shall misinterpret or misrepresent me. I will not 
be so discourteous as to suppose that it was his 
purpo.se to misrepresent me. 

Mr. HALE. Certainly not. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Then, sir, he 
wholly misconceived me, and the misconception 
is as unjust to me as the misrepresentation would 
be. He misconceived me when ho asserted that 
1 invoked, and was willing to proclaim, war with 
the bowie-knife, and the knife to the iiilt. The 
Senator cannot find that statement in anything 
that I said. I pointed out the result, (addressing- 
Mr. Hai.e) if you weri^ to continue your aggres- 
sions. You say you have made no agi;rc:ssions. 
You do not feel that it is any aggression to be 
continually assailing the institutions of the South. 
You do not feel it to be any aggression when a 
slave escapes from Virginia or Maryland and 
passes over into the free States where he is ar- 
rested and detained from his master. Yuu can- 
not feel that it is any aggression when a sliivc 
clings around the neck of her mistress for protec- 
tion, and one of your — not border, but internal 
ruffians, tears her fror>i the neck of her mistress 
and carries her off. No, sir, that is no aggres- 
sion to those whom you represent. I said tliat, 



if you continued these aggressions, and persecu- 
tions, and annoyances, you may get to such a 
point that war will come, and when it does come 
it will be no child's play. It will then be a war to 
the knife, and the knife to the hilt, to your heart's 
content. That is what I .said, and no more. 

Sir, the Senator frnni New Hampshire says 
that I set otit to establish a new era in the elocu- 
tion or proprieties of the Senate. That is a mis- 
statement, or a misconception. I said no such 
thing. I said tliat the speech of the Senator from 
Massachusetts had been such as to astonish me, 
and not such as I had hoped or expected from an 
American Senator. I said that I .should not use 
a single disrespectful word to the Senator from 
Massachusetts, because I felt that I was estopped 
from doing so by considerations of self-respect 
and the dignity of the Senate. I did not say one 
word discourteous to him, to my knowledge. I 
spoke strongly, as I had a right to speak, and as 
I always spi^alc, and as I always mean to speak. 

The Senator from New Han)])shire has said 
that he never uttered an unkind w(n-d, and never 
meant to utter an unkind word. I think that is 
entering a caveat. I never enter caveatn, and 1 
care not a copper whether they are entered for 
me or against me. 1 always speak as I feel, in 
reference to the dignity of the body to which I 
belong; and, however humble and unworthy I 
may be of it, it commandsmy higlnst (^miration, 
and never shall 1 be jirovoked within these walls 
to violate its duties, or its proprieties, if I can 
keep my self-possession. 

The Senator from New Hampshire used lan- 
guage a!.)out the Supreme Court, the exact phrase- 
ology of which I do not recollect, but it was as 
offensive as I think it could be, and yet be clothed 
in language becoming the lips of a gentleman. 

Mr. PI Ale. I said it was the citadel of slavery. 

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. Then, sir, you 
must jiardon me if I consider it as a great insult — 
an insult unbecoming a Senator to make on that 
body. It is a coordinate branch of this Govern- 
ment, and the strong arm and citadel of our safety. 
For purity, integrity, virtue, honor, and all that 
ennobles and dignifies the race to which you 
might belong, it stands unimpeached and unim- 
peachable. The Supreme Court the citadel of 
slavery ! No offense in tliat ! No taunt! — oh, no ! 
That is perfectly harmless! And yet when wc 
repel such assaults we are considered boasters 
and braggadocios! 

Again, sir, the Senator said that, if he owed his 
place here to anybody, he owes it the President 
of the United States. When I very kindly, and, 
I thought, politely — for I certainly did not mean 
to do, and do not think I did, the gentleman any 
injustice — a.syigned a paternity to the Senator, I 
said the Devil had a way of taking care of his 
own. He says that if that be so, the President 
of the United States is the devil. That is a ques- 
tion for you (addressing Mr. Hale) and the 
President to settle. [Laughter.] I have nothing 
to do with it. This much I do say, that if you 
came lu're, as you say you did, by the agency of 
the President, and you are indebted for your seat 
to hiin, you are the most ungrateful v.'retch that 
ever disgraced the American Senate. [Laughter 
and applause in the galleriLS.] 

The PRESIDENT. The galleries will be 
cleared if there be any further demonstrations. 



LiBRflRV OF CONGREb 



16 




Mr. JONES, of Tennessee. That was the last 
and only chance on God Almiajhty's eaith which 
you ever had to get here; and if he brought you 
here ought you not to be kind to him.' Ought 
you not to be affectionate to him.' Instead of 
that, with an ingratitude darker, blacker, more 
unmitigated than that of Judas, you are stabbing 
him on the right hand and on the left. Go home, 



016 088 938 f 

me uistmguished 
Thai is the 



allow me to beg you, a 
your ftxlher, and thank L... 
honor he has conferred upon you 
act of gratitude; that becomes a man of noble and 
generous impulses like yourself. If he brought 
you here — you say so; I do notknow it — but, if he 
did, of the many bad acts that he has done, I 
think that is the worst he ever did. [Laughter.] 



Printed at tJie Congresiiional Globe Offic«. 



LIBRAR 



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LIBRARY OF 



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016 088 938 A ^ 



